


Nightmares of Agami

by Jackfrostbitten



Series: Dance 'Till You're Dead [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Bad and Skeppy wonder what is happening, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Bloooooooooooooood, Body Horror, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Characters inspired by __secret_kitty__ on TikTok!, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Dream does nuts because thanks Nightmare, Emotional Manipulation, Eret is the chaos bi-icon, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, George is the only responsible one because Philza is on vacation, He also really needs a drink, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know much about Ponk and Punz so they just vibe, Injury, Jsclatt is tired of the multiverse's bullshit, Loss of Limbs, Manipulation, Masks, Mind Manipulation, More angst, Nightmare!Dream, Niki and Fundy vibe, No Relationships (All friends), No Smut, Not Beta Read, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Possession, Quackity stop trying to fucking drown people, Sapnap is the living embodiment of that's what she said and arson, Scars, Sleepy Cuddles, Songfic, Techno is self-destructive and is also probably immortal, The Song is Karma by AJR!, They're all chaos gremlins who really need therapy, Trauma, Tubbo likes bees and just talks about mooblooms for an hour straight, Twisted!Dream, Whatever the fuck is growing on Dream's arm, Wilbur needs therapy, tommy is tommy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:49:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27169568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackfrostbitten/pseuds/Jackfrostbitten
Summary: "I've been so goodBut it's still getting harderI've been so goodWhere the hell is the karma?"==================Dream doesn't quite know what happened. One minute he was filming his most recent manhunt with his friends. The next, visions of things he wished ever dearly he could forget, a mysterious figure with a black mask and malicious motives, and...what the hell happened to his arm?Looks like karma finally came back to bite him.
Series: Dance 'Till You're Dead [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983170
Comments: 34
Kudos: 187





	1. Hollowed-Out-Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Notes are at the end!

_“Agami karma (or kriyamana karma) is one of the three types of karma as laid out in the Vedas. This particular karma is dependent on present, in-the-moment actions and can be influenced by an individual to produce good outcomes for one's self in the future.”_

=======================================================

Dream ran through the forest, his heart pounding wildly in his chest as he let out a wheezy laugh that was carried away by the rushing wind.

“Oh, Georgie!~” Dream shouted as the younger man appeared in his full blue glory from behind a tree with the familiar forms of Sapnap and BadBoyHalo trailing behind him.

An arrow whizzed past his face and embedded itself in a nearby tree trunk. The masked man used the arrow as leverage and jumped onto a low branch of the tree, deftly swinging off of the branch onto a higher one which he crouched on top of. Grinning like a dog eating shit, Dream watched as a very confused George, Sapnap, and Bad ran right past his hiding spot further into the dark foliage. The blonde-haired man snorted and hopped down from the tree, landing on the forest floor with a light somersault.

“Too easy,” He laughed, pulling the hood of his lime green hoodie further over his head.

Turning on his heel, he knocked an arrow and went westward in search of some food and a lava pit.

_**Why are you doing this?** _

_An image flashed before Dream. His hands were covered in blood that wasn’t his. It was still warm and sticky and had the sweet smell of copper that made him gag. George was in convulsing on the ground in front of Dream, holding his stomach where an arrow had pierced him. Tears ran down the brunette’s face as blood slowly dribbled out of his mouth. He stumbled back in revulsion and shock, dropping a diamond sword he didn’t know he was holding onto the ground._

_**Be hunted or be the hunter. Do you want to live like that forever?**_

Dream awoke with tears on his face, lying on the ground curled into himself. _When did he get on the ground?_ The smell of copper had cleared from his nose, though the memory of George was still fresh in his mind. He pushed himself up and off of the ground, picking up his pack and crossbow which he had apparently dropped. Dream shook himself, clapping his face a couple of times to wake himself up.

He had stayed up late editing videos and working on his base on the SMP server. Maybe he was just tired.

_I’ll go to bed earlier tonight_ , he promised himself before continuing on his quest.

An hour and much cow slaughtering later, Dream finally heard Sapnap’s shout from all the way across the forest by the sound of it.

“I SWEAR TO GOD, GEORGE DID YOU GET US FUCKING STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CREEPY-ASS FOREST YOU--”

“LANGUAGE!” Reprimanded Bad equally as loudly.

For being advanced survivalists and PvP experts, they sure were loud as fuck.

Dream wasn’t complaining--it made them easier to track, especially since Bad could blend into almost any shadowy environment with his pitch-black skin and milky white eyes.

The blonde man snickered, finishing the last of his cooked steak and stomping out his little campfire before trotting off into the woods in search of the trio.

If he left them to their own devices, stuck in the woods hungry and lost, eventually Sapnap would just set one of them on fire. Or the forest. Sapnap had a habit of burning forests. Dream fondly remembered Sapnap excitedly recounting to him and George how he set the forest on the outside of L’Manburg on fire using nothing but a torch and spite.

_\--The village burned as Dream watched on in horror. The villagers scurried outside, screaming and ushering people out as the little blonde boy watched the iron golem--an old friend filled with love and loyalty for the village it protected--melt into a puddle of molten iron in front of him. A bloody red poppy fell from its stump hands, blowing away in the smoggy wind. The calloused hand of the blacksmith grabbed his own far smaller one, dragging Dream away from the roaring blue flames. The last thing Dream saw before the ground in front of him exploded with fire was the burning corpse of his mother._

_**Your friend caused pain, no? Why would you stay with them when they only cause pain?**_

Dream was keeled over on the ground, clutching his head as a sharp pain exploded out from his temples. He supported himself on a nearby tree while he shivered from fear and pain.

_The hell is happening?!_

It took nearly half an hour before Dream finally got his breathing under control, his earlier migraine now merely a dull throbbing.

Two flashbacks in one day, a rare occurrence. Dream was used to getting flashbacks-- _yay, PTSD_ \--but they were never this bad and never lasted for as long as those who had.

He had been so...good this year, too.

He gave Tommy his own crossbow and netherite armour that took him weeks of grinding to get to help him out in the war.

He comforted Sapnap when Henry was killed. Sap had played it off as a joke, but the death of his pet still had hurt him enough to drive the younger man into a breakdown.

He bought George new clout glasses when he accidentally lost his in a fight with Technoblade.

He helped his sworn enemy, Jschlatt, take care of Tubbo when he had gotten sick with the flu.

He thought that whatever you gave you were supposed to get back. Karma.

_So why the hell was he only being more hurt for giving?_

_**It’s not your fault. They did it. You’d be better off without them.**_

Dream stood, careful of his head which spun whenever he turned it.

Maybe he was better off without them.


	2. Everything's Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, tired and bitter from the visions which now plagued him, gets attacked by a zombie. Good thing an old friend was there to help!~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

Dream awoke the next morning feeling absolutely miserable.

His dreams--heh, _Dreams_ \--were plagued with nightmares filled with bitter memories of thick blue fire and puddles of molten iron and his friends slowly dying in his arms.

 _Tommy stood on the old wooden boardwalk on the side of L´Manburg, a determined glint in his eyes. Dream felt his hands let go of the bowstring and an arrow soared through the sky as he heard the rumbling voice of Wilbur say ¨Ten paces, fire!¨. He watched as the arrow pierced Tommyś heart and the young blonde boy he had considered a friend--a_ little brother _\--stumbled into the icy water below._

Dream let out a yelp as another wave of pain flooded his mind and he kneeled on the ground clutching his head.

_Am I going crazy?_

The masked man stood, stumbling into a tree as his brain throbbed uncomfortably in his skull.

_¨..You´re a smart man, Dream.¨_

_Wilbur´s crazed chocolate brown eyes peered back into his emerald green ones with the look of a man who was going to do something that even nature itself would revolt against. His hand moved on its own, dropping a couple pieces of TNT into the waiting man´s gloved hands. Wilbur pocketed them with a manic grin, pulling Dream into a hug that was too tight._

_¨We´re going to blow them all to hell.¨_

Dream could smell the smoke and the gunpowder as his head throbbed once again. There was fire everywhere. _TNT exploded leaving LḾanburg--Manburg--a gaping hole_ . Technoblade with a grimace shot Tubbo square in the chest with a firework-charged bolt that exploded outwards, killing Schlatt and Quackity along with the young boy. _Techno turned around, a malicious grin on his face and bloodlust in his crimson eyes as he fired another bolt straight into the waiting crowd of the festival_ . His mother lay burned beyond recognition in front of him, her beautiful golden locket reduced to a puddle of dirty gold on the ground. _Dream watched them carry her away on a gurney into a funeral carriage pulled by the local witch´s skeleton horses as tears blurred his vision._ A round white mask was placed in front of Dream by the witch. She told him it would help him hide his grief. _He drew a crooked, childish smile on the front in black ink._

The forest was dark, despite the morning rays of the sun. It provided good camouflage to creatures of the shadows.

**_...Whoops._ **

Dream barely registered the mass of rotting flesh sluggishly walking towards him from the other part of the forest. He didn't realize it had clambered on top of him, sinking its jaws into the flesh of his arms. Dream felt dizzy, and the world spun in a whirlwind of colours and fuzzy shapes in front of him. He wished whatever it was would just kill him. Put him out of his misery.

**_Jesus fuck--hold on, Dré._ **

The weight on his chest lifted and he heard a guttural groan be interrupted by the sick sound of a blade through flesh. Dream felt a cold, _ice_ , cold hand press against his forehead, and then he felt nothing more as his world went dark.

* * *

Dream rolled over, his eyes fluttering open as he realized his hood had been pulled away from his face and his mask was laying beside him on something soft and red. He sat up carefully, his head swimming as dark spots danced across his vision.

¨Morning.~¨ A sing-songy voice greeted from across the forest clearing.

A man practically identical to Dream was sitting across from him on a tree stump whittling a piece of wood into the shape of a round mask.

 _Dream´s_ mask.

The blonde man looked _exactly_ like Dream with the exception of his mask and hoodie, the first being completely black with a sinister white smile etched into it and the second being a deep shade of forest green unlike Dream´s lime green one….and also whatever was going on with his eye. The man's neck and face up to his jaw were covered in thick black veins that looked like tree roots. His eyes were black as coal without irises which stared hollowly back at Dream.

¨Are you going to keep staring at me or say hello back?¨ The stranger asked with an unnerving sharp-toothed grin.

¨...Sorry, you just look--¨

¨Like you?¨ They interrupted, tilting their head with the same grin that seemed to be almost permanently etched into their features, ¨That would be because I am.¨

 _Okay, he was_ definitely _going crazy._

The stranger let out a wheezing, high pitched laugh like the sound of glass shattering.

¨You-- _You´re_ crazy? Pft--¨ the stranger sputtered.

¨What's so funny?¨ Dream snapped. He didn´t know if he liked this stranger, though he was almost more concerned as to how the masked man knew what he was thinking.

The stranger wiped a tear from their eye, ¨I´m _you_ , dumbass, of course I know what you´re thinking.¨

¨ _Okay_ … but also, _what?_ ¨

¨Call me Nightmare,¨ the stranger-- _Nightmare_ \--extended a hand from across the fire. Without thinking, Dream tried to shake it but yelped in pain when the fire burned his hand and set part of his hoodie on fire.

Nightmare wheezed that horrible laugh, nearly falling backwards on the tree stump.

“Sorry, sorry! Couldn’t help myself.”

Dream nursed his burned hand with a growl at the dark-eyed man, “What the hell do you want?”

Nightmare held up his hands in surrender, his foul grin twisting into a smirk, “Same thing you do: karma to finally come back to those who hurt you.”

Nightmare took off his thick leather gloves, revealing his arms to be covered in the same thick black veins as his face, his hands ending in curved claws the colour of obsidian which he carefully inspected.

“Your so-called _friends_ \--Sapnap, GeorgeNotFound, and BadBoyHalo, right?”

Dream nodded with a raised eyebrow.

“--Not fantastic people, I’ll admit. Constantly asking to hunt you, they betrayed you in the L’Manburg war by joining forces with Schlatt, the glorious bastard, hell they even set you and Technoblade up in a duel. Technoblade, the blood god himself--you still have the scar, no?”

Dream nodded somberly as he thought back to the moment where Techno sliced his mask in two with his axe leaving behind a deep, bloody gash.

Nightmare leaned in closer, “So why don’t _we_ ,” he motioned to Dream and himself, “play karma and give those bastards what they deserve for hurting you.”

Dream remembered Sapnap driving a diamond sword through his ribs as the older man celebrated killing the ender dragon.

Dream remembered the sick satisfaction that filled his heart when Sapnap, Bad, and George fell onto the freshly frozen lake beneath him, disappearing in a puff of smoke the moment they hit the ice.

Dream remembered them hurting him over and over.

“Deal.”

Nightmare grinned, twisting into a wriggling mass of black smoke before disappearing and the fire in front of them snuffed itself out.

Chills ran down Dream’s right arm and the left side of his face, making his eye water. He rubbed his arm and face in an attempt to get rid of the pins and needles that felt like they were jabbing themselves into his skin. 

Dream grinned that same mirthless, cruel grin that Nightmare wore, taking a deep breath of the clear morning air. He caught his reflection in a nearby pool of water. His right hand was now clawed with the same odd black markings that Nightmare had, now running up the length of his arm. His right eye was inky black, though a little pinprick of white that acted as a sort of pupil was visible.

A tree branch cracking caught Dream’s attention as Sapnap, George, and Bad appeared from the trees with their weapons drawn.

“Oh, Dre--” George paused, looking in confusion and horror at Dream’s new appearance.

“Good to see you again, George, and please,” Dream grinned, unsheathing his diamond sword.

“Call me Nightmare.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new foe has appeared!  
> Welcome to the chaos, Nightmare, we hold gladiatorial battles at noon on Saturday  
> Thanks for all the feedback and wonderful comments, everyone, it means so much to me <333  
> Enjoy from your Friendly Frosty! <3


	3. AN: AHAHA I GOT A PLAYLIST

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :DDD

Guess who finally got a playlist for Nightmare!Dream?

spotify:playlist:7einXzGiNz9S8h6Dw72Bjk

Enjoy the music, folks!


	4. Am I Crazier Than Them?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

Nightmare struck first.

George sidestepped the blow, attempting to grab the sword from his friend, though Nightmare merely grinned and stuck his foot out to trip the brunette. George fell onto the forest floor, Nightmare’s blade at his neck as he let out a wheezing laugh.

“GEORGE!” Sapnap shouted in alarm, rushing up to grab Nightmare by the hood and yank him away from his fallen friend. Sapnap helped George up as Bad fired an arrow into Nightmare’s leg. The darkly masked man let out a sputtering laugh, black blood dripping from his wound.

“Hot damn, you have good aim! Now try to hit me when I’m running!~” Nightmare shouted, picking his sword off the ground and zig-zagging his way over to Bad’s hiding spot and swinging, the tip embedding itself in a nearby tree. Bad yelped and jumped out of the way, taking his sword out of his inventory, though he was a bit too late.

The blonde man grinned wickedly as the tree, nearly severed in half by the blow, groaned and began to tip over. George pulled Bad away from the falling tree by his checkered bandana, as Nightmare easily leapt over it and swung at the white-eyed man, striking him square across the chest.

**_BadBoyHalo was slain by D̶̔͊r̸̬̿ȅ̸̺̩a̷̢̧͕̅m̶̨̦̼̓_ **

Bad disappeared in a puff of smoke and Nightmare stumbled back in surprise.

“Wait, I thought their bodies stayed?” Nightmare muttered to himself, a look of confusion stealing across his features.

_On hardcore they do, but we’re playing with--_

“--Respawns,” Nightmare spat with a child-like frown, “‘Course the fucking cowards would have respawns on, Schlatt when I get to you I’m going to carve a bible verse into your spleen before I cremate you, turn your ashes into a vinyl for Despacito, and play it at your funeral as I dance on your fucking _grave_ you--”

George just stared at his friend as he fumed--albeit with very... _colourful_ threats--at Jschlatt for having respawns on the server.

_Sapnap whispers to you: okay wtf is going on gogy_

_George whispers to you: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯_

_George whispers to you: I mean, he’s not attacking me anymore??_

_George whispers to you: He’s insulting Schlatt atm_

_Sapnap: ,,,_

_Sapnap: nevermind let the man continue_

“--commit mass genocide against your fucking bloodline you horned glorious piece of--”

_George whispers to you: I have a feeling I’m going to be canceled if I let him continue_

_Nightmare whispers to you: what are we talking about?_

George turns to find that Nightmare, along with his ranting, have disappeared. A startled yelp and string of curses from Sapnap confirmed his suspicions.

“GEORGE, HELP!” The raven-haired man screamed.

Nightmare had Sap pinned against a nearby tree by his shirt collar with an arrow while he pressed his sword to the younger man’s throat.

“Aww, c’mon Sap! Say that I’m prettier than you and I’ll let you go,” he laughed.

“LET HIM GO!” George shouted, swinging his sword at Nightmare who easily dodged before punching him in the nose. Blood trickled down from the brunette’s nose as he knelt on the forest floor, panting. The blonde man snickered, swinging his sword behind him in one smooth stroke.

**_Sapnap was slain by D̶̔͊r̸̬̿ȅ̸̺̩a̷̢̧͕̅m̶̨̦̼̓_ **

“Easy as pie--speaking of, I could actually go for some pumpkin pie--DREAM COULD WE HAVE PUMPKIN PIE?” Nightmare exclaimed happily, shaking his hands up and down like an excited child.

Nightmare’s outburst gave George just enough time to run away into the forest.

“Oh--wait! _Shit_ , I forgot about him, ughh,” Nightmare slammed his palm to his forehead, “That’s going to be a pain to clean up later.”

 _...You forgot about George. Because you were too busy yelling at me. Because you wanted_ pumpkin pie _?_

Nightmare scowled, crossing his hands over his chest, “My attention span is about as long as your dad’s dick, now shut the fuck up, I’m making pumpkin pie.”

_Do we even have pumpkins?_

“Probably not!”

* * *

George ran back to their small camp where Bad and Sapnap were waiting for him.

“Run. Run, now,” George panted.

The trio ran until their legs gave out beneath them and they were forced to stop for a break. One of the trees groaned loudly as Technoblade on an _entire fucking horse_ collapsed down from the tree, effectively startling the three who drew their weapons on the piglin hyrbid.

Techno lay on the ground regretting his life choices for a moment before groaning and carefully standing up as the horse regained its balance.

“...You good, Techno?” George asked cautiously as the man swished his bubblegum pink braid out of his face, picking a couple of twigs out of his luxurious locks.

“Technoblade never dies,” the man responded in complete monotone.

“IF I WASN’T THERE TO MAKE SURE YOU DIDN’T FUCKING DIE, YOU WOULD HAVE RUN STRAIGHT OFF THE FUCKING CLIFF YOU--” came the familiar British shout of TommyInnit who was hanging upside down from a branch on the tree that Techno had just fallen out of. He was abruptly cut off in his shouting by an annoyed Wilbur who clapped a hand to the young boy’s mouth before deftly jumping down from the tree.

“We saw the messages and wanted to know if you three were okay,” Wilbur stated, worry leaving creases in his face.

Bad nodded with a warm smile, “We’re alright, though I don’t know if we can say the same for Dream--”

“He’s gone fucking nuts,” Sapnap interrupted.

“Language, Sapnap,” Bad chastised before sighing, “We don’t know what’s going on with him, but he’s definitely not the Dream we know.”

“His name was all glitchy,” Tubbo agreed, appearing suddenly from behind Sapnap, making the older man start violently and nearly decapitate the boy.

Tommy hopped down from his perch on the tree to meet his friends, glaring at Wilbur.

“He could’ve changed his gamertag or maybe he’s possessed?” Tommy tried.

“How did you go from ‘he changed his gamertag’ to ‘he’s fucking possessed’?” Wilbur asked incredulously.

Tommy shrugged, “I watched Techno eat ten stacks of potatoes in an hour--anything’s possible.”

“Ten out of ten, I would eat my potatoes again,” Techno agreed with a thumbs-up.

Tubbo, nearly asleep against Bad who was petting his soft brown hair, piped up, “I bet Schlatt’s library would have something on possession.”

The group turned to Tubbo with varying looks of confusion on their faces.

“...Schlatt _reads_?” Tommy looked at his friend with an expression that could only be described as “Windows computer error”.

“Yeah, he has this giant library underneath the White House with a bunch of books. He let me go down there once to get a book on mooblooms,” Tubbo recalled.

Wilbur and Techno shared a look that ended in a sly grin.

“...For the love of _god_ , you two,” George narrowed his eyes at Wilbur and Techno, “We are not breaking into the _fucking White House_.”

“Oh, come on, George!” Tommy grinned, his eyes lighting up at the promise of getting to destroy more of Schlatt’s stuff, “Just a little bit of crime, as a treat?”

Everybody, even Bad, looked at George with pleading eyes. George sighed--he’d already lost this battle.

“What’s the plan?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates and a playlist in one day?  
> Okay so the depression fairy got me for a couple days because of course and now I have motivation?????  
> Anyways, commit mass genocide  
> Enjoy from your Friendly Frosty! <3


	5. Sad Thoughts Can't Be Stopped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George, Bad, and Sapnap now with POGtopia, Dream and Nightmare get a bit of quality time together as Nightmare repeatedly does stupid shit mostly involving screaming memes...and trying to blow up Jschlatt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

_So._

¨Yeeees, Dré?¨ Nightmare hummed as he walked through the woods, a yellowing map in hand.

_What the fuck was that?_

¨Dunno what you mean.¨

_You know full well what I mean._

Nightmare snickered, ¨ _Okay_ maybe I do. Doesn't mean I want to tell you, though.¨

The masked man stopped at the stone entrance to a nearby cave, lighting up a torch and stuffing his map into his pockets.

¨I suppose you have a right to know, however, so you get three questions right now and three questions once we get to where we´re going,¨ Nightmare stated.

_Alright. Who are you?_

¨You, I thought that was obvious,¨ Nightmare turned left at a fork in the cave, slicing cleanly through a zombie.

_Not really considering the markings and your mask._

¨Eh, fair enough,¨ Nightmare paused in thought for a moment before continuing, ¨Dream, how do endermites work?¨

_Endermites? Theyŕe parasitic creatures that live in the hearts of endermen, ender pearls, until the enderman dies or is killed. When an ender pearl is thrown, it can crack and release the endermite._

¨Exactly,¨ Nightmare dodged a creeper blast before driving an arrow through the hollow eye socket of a skeleton.

¨We´re like parasites, festering and feeding off of people's negative emotions--well, sometimes they´re positive but not often--and grief until they can finally be let go. Your mother died, what, sixteen years ago?¨

_Unfortunately. I miss her._

¨So do I and she wasn't even my mother. Y´see,¨ Nightmare turned a corner as a blast of heat and bright orange light greeted him, ¨I´ve been with you since your mom died, sitting around waiting for something to happen. Then there was the war and the manhunts--trauma piles up after a little while, y´know?--and I´m strong enough that I can hold a bit of power over your body with the deal that we made. Before, I was just visions of the past and bad headaches.¨

 _So_ you _gave me the headaches?_

Nightmare grimaced, taking a water bucket and hefting it over to the pool of bubbling lava, ¨Yeah...sorry about that.¨

The blonde man carefully poured the water onto the lava, which immediately cooled into a glassy purple-black rock that gleamed in the orange glow of the remaining molten rock.

¨Pft--hey Dré?¨

_Yeah?_

¨Stone soup.¨

_Shut the fuck up._

Nightmare erupted into laughter, wheezing like a tea kettle left on the stove for too long.

_Where are we going?_

¨Ne--nether,¨ Nightmare wheezed, practically on the floor.

_Really? It wasn't even that funny of a joke; I found it on Tumblr six years ago._

¨Soup.¨

_SHUT IT._

¨I ne-eed emeralds for a thi-ng, and then we´re go-¨ Nightmare coughed, ¨go-ing to the nether for supplies.¨

_FANTASTIC, ALL YOU NEEDED TO SAY WAS THAT._

¨Do you-ou not like the soup?¨ Nightmare was fucking sobbing on the ground.

_I regret making a deal with you._

* * *

It took nearly an hour for Nightmare to finally find emeralds, though the process of finding diamonds to get the obsidian was much easier, especially considering that Nightmare was somehow _really_ good at finding ores.

_(¨Okay if we don´t find these stupid emeralds in the next hour, I´ll let you murder Schlatt once we get to the capitol.¨_

_...How does that pertain to_ anything _?_

_¨Sleep deprivation go brrr--¨_

_For the love of god, stop quoting memes before I rip out your spine.)_

With the portal lit, Nightmare stepped into the bright red wasteland that was the nether. The black stone of a nether fortress was barely visible in the distance underneath a mess of cyan trees, moss, and vines. A bubbling lava lake stretched out before him in bright oranges, reds, and golden yellows like a deadly sunset. Little grey Striders sat on the surface of the lava, making odd chirruping noises in greeting as Nightmare walked up to the lake.

¨Now we swim,¨ he declared.

What _?_

¨I'm _joking_ , Jesus, we´re taking a Strider, ¨ The blonde man snagged a thick mushroom growing in multiple layers with a cyan cap and bright orange spots off the ground, tying it to Dream´s old fishing rod.

The closest Strider to Nightmare burbled, moving closer and bending a bit so the masked man could clamber onto its back. For only having two legs and swimming in molten lava, _Jesus Christ was this thing fast_.

Nightmare arrived at the fortress in a matter of minutes, making a bit of small talk with Dream and cooing at the odd creature he was riding.

(¨Okay, but how does a fish commit tax fraud?¨

_We don't question Schlattś decisions unless it´s slapping babies._

¨He _slapped_ a baby?¨

 _I mean, it_ was _just hanging from the ceiling._

¨...Okay, how the fuck are you all still alive and not in jail or a mental hosipital?¨

_You can´t be stuck in a place that doesn´t exist, and I'm ninety-percent sure that I'm dead and this entire escapade is a hallucination.)_

Nightmare collected a bit of nether wart--

(¨Is this edible?¨

_I probably wouldn't eat it?_

_…_

_Nightmare did you just eat the fucking nether wart?)_

\--fought off some blazes and wither skeletons--

(¨I HAVE THE POWER OF GOD AND ANIME ON MY SIDE MOTHERFUCKER--¨)

\--before finally settling down for a good night's rest.

**_D̷͈̐r̷̭̾ẻ̵̜a̴͔͌m̸͜ was killed by [Intentional Game Design]_ **

¨….I hate my existence.¨

* * *

Nightmare carefully worked the bellows of his makeshift forge, pouring molten emerald into something resembling a really long hoe--a _scythe_. He wrapped it in a bit of their spare leather before testing it out. It had the perfect weight to it, light yet heavy in Nightmare´s hand.

It wasn´t a tool.

It was a _weapon_.

¨Well, Dream, ask away,¨ Nightmare finally proclaimed with a yawn.

_What?_

¨I told you you'd get three more questions when we got to our destination, and, well, here we are!¨

_Huh? Okay, uh, how´d you get your name, are there others like you, and how did you make that scythe?_

¨Nightmare is the opposite of Dream and I liked the play on words; yes there are a lot more creatures like me which you'll probably end up meeting if things go south; and a lot of practice,¨ Nightmare counted each of the questions on his hand, sighing softly once he reached three.

¨I love sparring--hell, I feed off of death--so I´ve learned to make a bunch of different weapons over the years. Scythes were always the ones I liked the most, and when I figured out you could make them out of emeralds? You bet your ass I immediately made six,¨ Nightmare smiled. It wasn't like that unnerving, sharp-toothed smile that he normally wore, this one was...genuine. Like the memory truly made him happy.

¨An old friend of mine worked as a Warden down in the caves for a couple years and he'd always bring me back the coolest gemstones and metals to make weapons out of. I may be stuck to you in physical form, but that doesn't mean I can't have someone else make me one for the time being so I can visit my friends.¨

Nightmare sighed, sorrow creeping onto his face, ¨Operator powers were nice like that until Schlatt killed you and took them.¨

_What do you mean?_

¨OP is transferred through death, Dream, you don't just have them forever.¨

_Dream lay on the floor convulsing in pain as his insides threatened to tear him into pieces. Jschlatt knelt over him with an apathetic look, holding a glass vial filled with harming potion in his hand. With a smile and words that Dream couldn´t remember, Schlatt poured the contents of the vial onto the shaking man, leaving the moment he saw Dream´s body disappear._

¨Schlatt killed you, so he gets operator permissions until we kill him,¨ Nightmare´s face contorted in a twisted grin as he stood.

Nightmare pulled a little bag from his pocket containing a bright orange-red powder that sparked and crackled in his hand along with a glassy ender pearl, a couple of pearlescent ghast tears he had collected earlier, and enough glass to cover the ocean. Bending over a crafting table, Nightmare got to work combining and crafting until he was left with a crystal the size of a basketball hovering slightly above his outstretched hand with a shimmering purple and red centre that twisted and turned revealing ancient runes that were carved into the sides.

¨We get operator permissions, we get to turn on lovely features like perma-death, ohoho, imagine the amount of _despair that_ would come with knowing that your friend is dead forever. There’s no bringing them back in hardcore mode. And guess what Dream?”

Nightmare pocketed six other crystals, throwing the one he was previously holding into the far end of the fortress. The crystal exploded upon impact, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

“They finally suffer for what they did to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its midnight on a Saturday and the monster underneath my bed in my closet wouldn't shut up until I posted this  
> Now the murder starts~  
> Enjoy from your Frosty Friend! <3


	6. Instructions, Please!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad, George, and Sapnap--with the help of POGtopia--enact their plan to get into the White House library and find an answer to their growing questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

**_/~Meanwhile~/_ **

Niki hated Jschlatt.

He was a cruel businessman, a liar, and a cheat in everything. He always wore an apathetic grin filled with malice and hatred for the world. With thick brown rams horns, a crisp grey suit with a stark red tie, and teeth sharp enough that he could rip out a person’s throat with them, he was practically the devil in human form.

So when Niki was told that she’d need to host a brunch with the horned man and his lover, Quackity, she had done everything in her power to refuse him.

“Aww, c’mon, Niki! One little brunch is all I ask,” Quackity grinned, twirling a curved dagger in his hand. 

“I’d rather die,” She spat with a growl.

The windchimes by the door ringing caught the pair’s attention and the familiar form of Wilbur in full hobo getup stood in the doorway.

“Bad time?” He asked with a grin that made Quackity shrink away.

“ _You’r_ e not allowed in Manburg,” Quackity seethed.

Wilbur held his hands up in mock surrender, “I’ll be out of your hair soon, I just need to talk to Niki real quick.”

Quackity snorted, looking the taller man up and down as if sizing him up for a fight.

After a moment, Quackity seemed to give up and flipped Wilbur the bird as he left Niki’s small bakery.

Niki immediately wrapped Wilbur in a bear hug, silent tears leaving dark tracks in their wake. Wilbur held her tightly, running a soothing hand through her short blonde hair and whispering things in her ear.

“I have to hold a brunch for Quackity and Schlatt tomorrow night, and I just--” Niki choked with a gasping sob, “I-I don’t know what I’ll do, they could hurt me--”

“Shh, I’ll never let them hurt you,” Wilbur shushed, holding Niki tighter.

“In fact,” Niki stepped away as Wilbur pulled out a little letter with a wax seal in the shape of the L’Manburgian flag.

“I think I know a way we could get back at them for this whole thing.”

* * *

“You’ve thoroughly outdone yourself, Niki!” Schlatt complimented, pulling apart a sweet roll and popping some of it into his mouth. 

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Niki smiled, trying her best not to throw up.

Wilbur waved to her from the kitchen window, giving her a warm smile and a thumbs-up.

“So, Niki,” Schlatt continued, putting down his food with a sly grin, “I imagine with food as good as this that your shop is doing quite well here in Manburg.”

Niki wanted to punch the grin right off his face.

“Thank you, Mr. President, and the bakery is doing very good here.”

Tubbo shared a sympathetic look with Niki from his spot next to Schlatt while Quackity shovelled pastries and buns into his mouth.

“That’s fantastic, though I bet you that your bakery wouldn’t do _nearly_ as well in say--” Schlatt twirled his hand in a vague gesture as he feigned pondering the question, “the rebel scum POGtopia or the brutal creatures from the Dream SMP?”

_I’m going to fucking murder this man._

“Probably not, Mr. President,” Niki agreed through clenched teeth.

“‘S really good food, so I bet you could go anywhere you liked!” Tubbo exclaimed with a bright smile as he took a bite of a chocolate chip biscuit.

“Oh, of course, _you_ would think that Tubbo,” Schlatt roughly pet the young boy’s hair, “However, the other people on this server might beg to differ with you.”

Wilbur scowled at Schlatt and gave a drinking motion to Niki.

Niki smiled slyly, “Well, how about a toast to having our wonderful president come by and visit my humble bakery?”

Schlatt and Quackity’s drinks were grey while the other two were blue. It was difficult to mask them, but Tubbo figured out that with a bit of stained glass, you can make blue and grey look pretty similar.

It took ten minutes after the toast before both Quackity and Schlatt fell asleep in their seats, Tubbo giving them a quick poke and a thumbs-up to ensure that they were knocked out.

Niki pulled on her coat as she, Tubbo, and Wilbur raced to the White House. They had to get in and out before the sleeping potion wore off and before Dream did anything irreversible.

Bad, Sapnap, George, Techno, and Tommy were waiting for them in front of the White House.

“Is the target out?” Techno droned.

“You make it sound like we killed him,” Wilbur snickered with a raised eyebrow.

Techno shrugged, “I’d be alright with that.”

“Save the murder for later, we need to find that book,” Tommy insisted, pushing open the grand double doors of the large granite building.

Tubbo lead them down a huge marble staircase--

_(“I mean, the prick has pretty good taste,” Techno whistled, stealing a golden idol from one of the shelves._

_“Try saying that when you’ve been stuck in a dungeon for two months,” Niki grumbled.)_

\--and into a little office space by the dungeons. He pulled a leaver with the help of Wilbur, and the bookcase at the far end of the room slid to the left, revealing a long, dark tunnel.

Wilbur motioned forward with a bow to Niki, “After you.”

Niki laughed and lightly smacked the brunette over the head with the back of her hand before striking a torch and leading the way through the catacombs.

The tunnel ended in a humungous circular room filled ceiling to floor with books of all sorts, each covered in a mountain of dust. A wooden chandelier decorated with tiny crystals hung grandly in the centre of the room which lit itself the moment the group walked in.

“Okay, my question is: what the fuck is he doing with all of these?” Tommy questioned, flicking the dust off of a nearby book and sneezing when it flew into his face.

“Language!” Bad chastised with crossed arms.

Wilbur sighed, “Well everyone, let’s get to work.”

* * *

An hour and three epic montages later, Tubbo shouted from across the room, “I FOUND ONE!”

Techno pulled Tommy out of the pile of books he had gotten himself stuck underneath and the pair ran to meet Tubbo, who was sitting six feet off the ground on a stone shelf with an old, leather-bound book in hand. 

Hopping off of the shelf, he handed the book to Wilbur, who brushed off a mountain of dust which lay on the cover.

_A Guide To Possession From Otherworldly Creatures_

“Good job, Big Man!” Tommy exclaimed, wrapping his friend in a bear hug that lifted him off of his feet.

Wilbur flipped a couple of pages and was met with the sight of six different creatures with twisting runes and cryptic warnings underneath them.

The first was a creature made of purple, green, and black tree roots mimicking a dragon with a lion’s tail and an eagle’s wings and thick claws that dripped with violet poison. The second was a creature similar to a blaze, except crackling shackles and chains wrapped around every part of it, including its bulbous head. The third creature was a Warden--Wilbur recognized it from his last encounter with one in a dungeon. The fourth was a two-legged doggish creature that stood on its hind legs like a werewolf with an evoker cloak and a long priest’s scarf wrapping around its neck--Wilbur also noticed with a shiver that it had two heads each with eight glassy white eyes like a spider. The fifth was a piglin monster with gems encrusted on its head in a twisting mass of horns, and the ivory tusks on its face curved upwards until they went through the hollow eye sockets of the beast. The sixth and final creature’s page had been ripped out with a message scrawled on the bottom in messy black ink.

_If you see Sunday, ThomasOuttit, Toob, or Soot, kill all of them immediately._

Looking up at the vine-dragon-creature Wilbur found a warning underneath it in the same messy scrawl.

_Nightmare does not feel physical pain but it’s hosts mental pain also affects it. If encountered, tell the host to think of the worst and best memories they have ever had._

“..Hey, George?” Wilbur looked over at the brunette who was currently being held in a headlock by Sapnap.

“Yes?” He choked out, trying to bite the arm holding him.

“What was the name that Dream told you to call him?”

Sapnap let his friend go and George fell in a heap to the floor, his sunglasses tumbling off of his face, “Ow! Sapnap, _Jesus_ \--I think it was Nightmare.”

Bad nodded, concern in his eyes, “It was Nightmare.”

Wilbur winced, reading the rest of the warning underneath the creature.

_Nightmare has extreme speed, agility, strength, and accuracy. If unable to contact host, do not run, stay put and accept your death._

“You guys might want to see this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book: Yeah so you guys met Nightmare who happens to be stupid strong and is going to kill you all for fun  
> Wilbur: Haha! I'm in danger!
> 
> And now the fun begins!~  
> Thank you all for the lovely comments, they mean the absolute world to me  
> Thanks and enjoy from your Friendly Frosty! <3 <3


	7. I've Been So Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

George ran through the forest, his legs burning.

His lungs were too tight in his chest.

Panic wrapped its claws around his throat, threatening to tear him apart.

He couldn’t lose Dream.

Not again. 

* * *

Sapnap sprinted alongside George, watching as the brunette’s tears glistened like diamonds in the pale moonlight.

Sapnap found Dream through George--a scared little boy with emerald green eyes without a place to call home.

Sap had taught him how to correctly start a fire.

Dream burned himself trying to stick a piece of wood in the bonfire that day, and Sap had been there to bandage it up and cool it off.

Sapnap would free his friend from this _thing_.

Or he would die trying.

* * *

Bad leapt through the trees, watching his friends run in the direction of the little compass arrow.

They’d seen the death message, they knew he was in the nether.

Bad met Sapnap, George, and Dream when they were angsty teenagers obsessed with causing trouble anywhere they went.

Bad was always the one who called them out for their language, held them when they cried, made dinner when they got home.

Bad was the one who bandaged their wounds without questioning how they got them.

Bad cared for Dream like he was his brother.

Bad wasn’t going to lose another brother.

* * *

_We’re going to explode the White House?!_

“‘Course, Dream,” Nightmare grinned ruthlessly, his former joy wiped away by the bitter malice and hatred that gleamed in his eyes, “How else do you expect us to kill _Jschlatt_ , the horned god himself?”

_End crystals have a huge radius--we’d blow up anybody else nearby._

Nightmare giggled manically, “You act like that’s a bad thing.”

_I’m not killing the others, they have nothing to do with this._

“Aww, but you didn’t seem to have a problem with that during the wars, did you? How about the manhunts?”

_…_

“Exactly,” Nightmare called to a Strider across the lava lake, sticking the mushroom on a stick out in front of it, “They hurt you, you want karma to come back and bite them, don’t you?”

_Not like this._

“Too bad, so sad, this is the plan I have and the only chance you’ll ever get, so are you going to do it or not?”

_…_

_Fine._

Nightmare grinned, patting the Strider as he scurried off it and towards the nether portal, “I knew you would come to your senses.”

Nightmare wasn’t fast enough, and the familiar form of George, tears running down the brunette’s face, leapt at him with his netherite sword drawn.

“GIVE HIM BACK!” George screamed, swinging at the masked man’s chest. 

Nightmare turned on his heel, grabbing the blade by its hilt and slamming his knee into George’s stomach. George recoiled, one hand clutching his stomach and the other still holding his blade.

Sapnap appeared behind Nightmare, pressing his cold netherite blade to his friend’s throat.

“You have five seconds to give Dream back before I kill you.”

Nightmare laughed an awful wheezing laugh as he surreptitiously removed the thick leather gloves covering his claws, “What makes you think that Dream wants to go with you?”

Sapnap loosened his grip on his blade as hurt filled his expression, enough so that Nightmare could drive it into the ground and push the raven-haired man into the ground. Pulling the emerald scythe off of his back, Nightmare plunged the tip into Sapnap’s chest.

**_Sapnap was slain by ๔𝓻Ⓔάм_ **

Bad let loose an arrow straight into Nightmare’s back, making him start violently and look hastily around for the culprit.

“Even if Dream doesn’t want to be with us, I can sure as hell bet he doesn’t want to be with you,” Bad seethed, helping George up with his crossbow in hand. It was charged with a bolt tipped with a firework rocket.

“A firework arrow, clever bastard,” Nightmare grinned, pulling the arrow out of his chest with a sick squelching noise, “And, as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be here had Dream not made a deal with me.”

“Liar,” George spat.

Nightmare held his hands up, “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Dream.”

Nightmare’s grin was replaced with a dazed expression for a moment and the scythe in his hand lowered to the ground. The masked man’s expression abruptly turned grim and cold, as he picked up his scythe and swung right at Bad, who dodged and fired a bolt as his friend.

The firework missed by a couple of inches, colliding with a nearby cyan tree and splashing harmlessly off in a rainbow of colours, though the bolt itself grazed Dream’s arm.

Dream yelped in pain, throwing George by his collar into Bad, effectively knocking the pair down. Dream lifted his scythe and brought it down right on Bad’s neck--inches away from George’s face.

**_BadBoyHalo was slain by ＤＲ𝑒ⓐᗰ_ **

A crystalline glint from one of Dream’s hoodie pockets caught George’s eye, and he carefully grabbed a few of them out of the masked man’s pocket while he was distracted. Although shrunken to fit in one’s inventory space, George immediately recognized the odd carvings and crackling aura.

End crystals.

The scythe was suddenly pressed against George’s throat as Dream looked between George and the end crystals in his hand.

“Give those back,” Dream droned, his expression cold.

“You’re going to kill people with them.”

“They hurt me, why should I care?”

George’s eyes filled with tears that blurred his vision, “Remember when Bad and I surprised you with Patches on your birthday? Remember when Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo got together after the festival to have drinks with you and Schlatt when they weren’t filming?” George stood, and Dream moved the emerald blade to follow his neck.

“Remember when Sapnap showed you how to make a fire? Remember when Techno cut your mask and you had a panic attack over it so he called off the match and stayed with you the rest of the day?”

“Stop it,” Dream breathed shakily.

“We love you more than you’d ever know, Dream, _all_ of us,” George smiled warmly, “ _I_ love you, Dream.”

**_Ahaha! Now’s your chance, kill him!_ **

Dream dropped the scythe on the ground, clenching his fists.

**_N̷̩̮̈́͐͂Õ̸̧̧͚̆̄̆!̴̽̒_ **

“Run. As far and fast as your legs can carry you. Destroy the end crystals the moment you get back to the overworld,” Dream, moved away from George before giving him a familiar, bittersweet smile and collapsing on the ground.

George ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :))  
> Y'know how most of the previous chapters still had a fairly light tone?  
> Yeah, that's not happening anymore :)  
> Enjoy and thank you from your Friendly Frosty! <3


	8. Out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream, seeing the truth of his situation, refuses to work with Nightmare any longer. Let's just say...it doesn't go too well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

ⱠØ₴₮ ₳₦Ø₮ⱧɆⱤ Ø₦Ɇ?

 ** _It’s not my fault!_** **_The fucking--the kid_** **spared** ** _the other one like a fucking coward._**

 _♥_ _✌︎♋︎♋︎♋︎■︎♎︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♎︎♓︎♎︎■︎🕯︎⧫︎ ♑︎□︎ ♋︎♐︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♒︎♓︎❍︎✍︎♥  
_

 ** _Dream was_** **FUCKING out** ** _like a light,_** **_there was nothing I could’ve done._**

ЩΛKΣ ΉIM ЦP ƬΉΣП.

**_...No._ **

QɄł₮ ₱ØɄ₮ł₦₲, ₦ł₲Ⱨ₮₥₳ⱤɆ, ₳₦Đ ₲Ø ĐØ ł₮.

**_For the record, you four can go fuck yourselves._ **

* * *

“Get the fuck up,” came the low growl of Nightmare somewhere beside Dream.

Nightmare kicked him in the ribs with the steel toe of his boot, making Dream start awake, standing to face the creature.

Nightmare’s appearance had changed drastically since when Dream first met the parasite in the forest. Black and forest green scales littered his face and neck, especially in the corners of his eyes, which also happened to be where thick black antlers that swooshed back and away from Nightmare’s face were now growing. His face was cracked in several places like a porcelain dish that had been dropped on the kitchen floor, with an odd white light faintly illuminating the spaces behind the cracks.

Nightmare gestured to his face, sensing Dream’s thoughts, “Wanna guess which of your motherfucking friends did this to me?”

Dream drew the scythe that Nightmare had made for him, widening his stance.

_(Well, now it only needs a name._

_¨TAX FRAUD, I’M NAMING IT TAX FRAUD.”_

_JESUS--you’re going to attract ghasts, shut the fuck up.)_

Nightmare was like an easily excitable child with a short attention span and more cursing, but now…

There was only fury and malice and _hurt_ in Nightmare´s hollow eyes.

¨Ooo, wow, my own weapon against me, how smart,¨ Nightmare slow clapped before using a low sweeping kick to knock Dream´s feet out from underneath him. Dream stumbled and fell backwards, the scythe falling from his grip into Nightmare´s waiting hand.

¨You´re fucking _nothing_ without me, Dream,¨ Nightmare spat, violet poison dripping from his uncovered claws, ¨You happened to be the desperate, broken motherfucker who let me out of your stupid mushy heart and made a deal with me that we could kill them all, and what did you do?¨

Nightmare jammed the tip of the scythe into Dream´s palm, tearing tendons and flesh in half as though it were warm butter. Dream screamed in pain, darting away with his injured hand close to his chest.

¨You fucking _spared_ the same person who hurt you--you even let him steal five of my end crystals!¨

¨They care. George said they did,¨ Dream seethed, wrapping his mangled hand in some spare bandages he had and drawing his netherite sword.

¨People can lie, Dream, to others and themselves,¨ Nightmare grit his teeth, making a horrible screeching noise as the sharp points ground against each other.

¨He lied to you because you would have killed him otherwise, and people do stupid shit when they don´t want to be killed.¨

Dream narrowed his eyes at the creature, ¨ _You_ lied to me about your plan to kill Schlatt--¨

Nightmare cut the lightly masked man off by swinging his scythe at him, simultaneously cutting down a nearby tree in the process.

¨And when I told you, you _FUCKING agreed_ to help me--¨

¨Only because you told me there was no other way!¨

Nightmare swung again, though Dream blocked it with his netherite sword, slicing open his counterpart´s abdomen. Nightmare _didn't even flinch_ as his flesh began to meticulously repair itself in front of Dream´s eyes.

¨I don´t know if you knew this or not, but a verbal contract is _law_ in California and deals with eldritch horrors,” Nightmare hissed, wiping his stray black blood off of his scythe, “You made _two_ , both of which you willingly agreed to.”

“I’m not playing this fucking game, Nightmare,” Dream growled.

“And yet, _you’re_ the one who agreed to play!” Nightmare slammed into Dream, knocking the man down to the ground, pressing his scythe against his throat until little rivulets of blood began to leak from the wound. Dream bit his tongue to hold back a cry of pain as the man also kneeled on his injured hand with a cruel smirk.

“So, I’ll ask _one more time_ , Dream,” Nightmare threatened, “Are you going to help me or am I going to have to drag you with me?”

Dream spat a mouthful of blood into Nightmare’s face.

“So be it.”

 **_NIGHTMARE_ ** **_was slain by Nightmare_ **

* * *

George sprinted through the forest, the sharp end crystals slicing his palm as he leapt over fallen trees.

He had to run.

He had to get away.

He had to help him.

He had to get rid of the end crystals.

George could have cried with relief when the familiar sight of a little hole with a spotted horse lounging inside came into view. Bad was talking in hushed, worried whispers with Wilbur and Technoblade who both wore concerned expressions. Techno’s crimson eyes caught George’s chocolate brown ones, despite the glasses covering his face, and he immediately tapped Bad on the shoulder, pointing to the younger man.

George practically collapsed into his friend’s waiting arms, giving him a tight hug before turning and throwing the stolen end crystals into the crackling flame of the campfire. The fire erupted into a tall violet flame before cooling to softly glowing embers.

“Ba-d,” George gasped, pulling his friend into a hug again before falling to his knees. Bad went with him, petting his short brown hair and rubbing soothing circles on the younger man’s back.

“Just breathe, you’re alright,” Bad smiled warmly, humming softly.

George didn’t remember falling asleep when he cracked open his puffy eyes.

He was snuggled into Bad underneath a soft _something_ which George quickly recognized as Techno’s cloak. Techno was sitting with WIlbur beside the sleeping man on the sofa--since when did they have a _sofa_?--across from Sapnap, Tommy, Tubbo, Niki, and a very annoyed-looking Quackity with a grim Jschlatt by his side.

“...And you’re certain he called himself Nightmare?” Jschlatt asked, his tone even and unreadable.

Bad nodded, running a hand through George’s hair, “Positive.”

Jschlatt sighed, slicking back his hair, “ _Fuck_.”

Bad didn’t even call him out on his language when he peered over at George, who quickly closed his eyes, not wanting to disturb the conversation.

“Dream…” George heard Sapnap suck in a raspy breath from the other end of the little meeting room. _He had been crying_ , “The “Nightmare” dude told us we could ask Dream himself if he didn’t want to be around us,” he gestured vaguely around the room, “and then he kinda zoned out for a minute. When he came back, he attacked us.”

Jschlatt growled, “Dream’s under the impression that Nightmare wants to help him--”

“Not anymore,” George carefully sat up, rubbing his eyes with his palms, “He spared me and told me to run. I stole some of his ender crystals--” George sucked in a raspy breath and Bad rubbed his back comfortingly, “I threw them into the fire when I got here.”

Jschlatt sighed with a faint smile on his lips, “End crystals again? Running out of ideas, Nightmare,” he muttered under his breath before clearing his throat, “It’s good to know that Dream’s still in there, though I can imagine that Nightmare’s not going to be quite as.. _kind_...to him after he spared you.”

George shook his head almost sheepishly.

“Nonetheless, with end crystals in his possession and a clear knowledge of operator permissions thanks most in part to me, unfortunately,” Jschlatt looked grimly around the room, “He could do untold damage, not just to L’Manburg, the SMP, himself, and us--”

“But to the rest of our friends on other servers,” George finished with a wince.

Jschlatt nodded.

Techno gave George a little head pat, a kind gesture coming from the piglin hybrid, before he drew his netherite sword, “Then we get rid of Nightmare before he gets to ‘ya.”

Sapnap snorted, “We fought the dude twice, and this time he has a long hoe with a six-million fucking foot reach--it’s a hell of a lot easier said than done to just kill the fucker.”

 ~~ **_NIGHTMARE_ **~~ **_was slain by Nightmare_ **

The room went silent as each of them watched the death message slowly fade with varying degrees of horror and shock on their faces.

Bad was the first one to stand, throwing one of his thin black throwing knives into the wall above Jschlatt where it embedded itself in the concrete behind it. Jschlatt raised an eyebrow with a smirk at the younger man.

“Let’s go kill the motherfucker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dad Bad: *exists*  
> H/C authors: It's free real estate  
> I love Dad Bad so mucucuuchucuchchhc I love him aahhhahhahh and he be with GEORGE WITH COMFORT (I sense projection) my ghsohshgss hell heck adsf  
> Bad's pissed, George is tired, Sapnap is horny, and Jschlatt is done with the multiverse's bullshit  
> Enjoy and thank you from your Friendly Frosty! <3


	9. The Universe Works In Mysterious Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story comes to an end as Nightmare finally encounters Jschlatt.  
> But a new story is just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes!

Nightmare rushed through the dark foliage of the forest next to where the walls of L’Manburg once proudly stood on a horse with a thick black coat and pearly white mane.

_ “Ni-Mi!” Feret called from across the banks of the river. She was covered in mud that matted the striped fur that covered parts of her body.  _ _ 几回卞とヨ卞  _ _ stood beside her, using his flame to carefully turn the thick mud into clay which began to break off of Feret’s fur.  _ _ ΉΣƧΣΣƧ _ _ was carefully whittling a piece of wood while  _ _ ֆɨռռɛʀ _ _ sang sweet lullabies beside him underneath a billowing willow tree. Nightmare ran up to the very annoyed Feret with a shit-eating grin on his face. She smacked him over the side of his head with a laugh. _

Nightmare’s skin cracked further and the masked man grit his sharp teeth in pain. The visions were getting worse thanks to Dream and his stupid fucking friends. He’d have to either get operator permissions from killing Schlatt or--

Nightmare didn’t want to think about the or.

He’d worked hard to get to where he was. He wasn’t just going to give it up. Nobody was going to take his place if he could help it.

Nightmare urged his horse faster, a cruel grin twisting the features of his face as he saw the familiar blocky granite shape of the White House.

* * *

Bad stood watch on Tommy’s cobblestone “intimidation tower” watching as Nightmare rode into L’Manburg. His blood boiled as he watched the grin spread onto the masked man’s face. Bad alerted the rest of the SMP to Nightmare’s whereabouts and where he was heading.  Bad loved Dream as though he were his little brother.

Bad was afraid to take action when it was his actual brother.

He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

* * *

Jschlatt never wanted to be a part of the multiverse’s bullshit, and yet…

Well, ‘ya give the people material, they’re bound to make something out of it.

It was kinda flattering, in a way. Like when someone makes a body pillow out of you.

The horned man heard the familiar sound of an end crystal cracking which turned into the rumbling noise of an explosion right outside the White House. Schlatt guessed that Nightmare had made his entrance by bombing the reverse coaster--the dramatic fuck.

Well, the people wanted a show, and Schlatt was sure as hell going to give it to them.

* * *

George and Sapnap ran side by side into the White House using POGtopia’s tunnel system. Subpoena opened the iron trapdoor keeping them out of Schlatt’s office, and pulled George up the ladder into the small room. 

Both had tears in their eyes that they were determined to not let spill.

They were done crying.

It was time for war.

* * *

“JESUS FUCKING AH--” Nightmare jumped as the end crystal exploded upon impact with the cobblestone zig-zaggy thingy. Cobblestone shards erupted from the wreckage, one of them nearly smacking into Nightmare, and another slamming straight into his horse, leaving only a bit of blood and a puff of smoke in its wake.

“WHY THE FUCK ARE THESE THINGS SO POWERFUL?” He yelled at the sky,  **_thoroughly_ ** pissed.

_ 几回卞とヨ卞  _ _ peered at Nightmare with his fiery orange-gold eyes. _

_ “If you touch my Olive Garden breadsticks, I will personally french braid your nervous system,” Nightmare growled, stuffing an entire breadstick into his mouth while  _ _ ΉΣƧΣΣƧ _ _ sat across from them with his head on the table,  _ **_thoroughly_ ** _ regretting his life decisions. _

_ 几回卞とヨ卞  _ _ grinned, his mouth full of molten lava peeking out from under his jagged jaw. He snatched a breadstick off of his friend’s plate, shoving it into his mouth. _

_ “YOU HORNY BASTARD--” Nightmare shouted, tackling  _ _ 几回卞とヨ卞  _ _ to the ground. _

_ “I win Murder Bingo,” Soot droned. _

Nightmare winced as the vision left a bitter taste in his mouth like stale--

Stale breadsticks.

He had to move, and fast.

* * *

Bad was interrupted in his careful watching of Nightmare shouting profanities at the heavens when a humanoid diamond creature fell off of the reverse coaster and onto the shiny cobblestone of the intimidation tower.

“Hey, Ron. Hey Billy,” the creature, Bad’s friend the diamond golem Skeppy, rolled onto his back with a sheepish grin.

“Did you get yourself stuck on the coaster again?”

“...Maybe?”

Bad sighed with a chuckle, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Nightmare clutched his head and breathed heavily.

“I was promised that I’d be able to murder another ghost?” Bad helped Skeppy up, who brushed off his blue gamer jacket, pulling a can of Monster out of his pocket and taking a large gulp of it.

“Not quite a ghost, but pretty close--are you still mad about Rush?”

Skeppy crossed his arms, setting the energy drink on the side of the tower with a scowl, “Fucker stole my bread.”

“Language!” Bad reprimanded, smacking his friend playfully over the back of the head.

Nightmare started moving again, and Bad froze, drawing one of his knives from his pocket.

Skeppy placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, staring at Nightmare as he stormed off to the White House.

“Let’s go kill the not-ghost.”

* * *

Nightmare walked briskly, jumping over debris from the initial blast to the reverse coaster. He imagined  **Thomas** would probably smite him for--

_ ThomasOuttit stood next to Nightmare on the black sand beach grinning madly. _

_ “--He grabbed the dude by the scruff of his neck and just fucking threw him over the ledge!” _

_ Nightmare wheezed, placing a hand on Thomas’s shoulder. _

_ “You-you wanna know how it feels?” _

_ Thomas looked at him with an expression of playful shock before attempting to run, but Nightmare was faster. He grabbed Thomas by his hood, and tossed him into the crystalline ocean. Sputtering, Thomas resurfaced with a grin worthy of Nightmare’s own. _

_ “OH YOU’RE GONNA GET IT NOW, FUCKER!” _

He was Tommy here. Not Thomas. Nightmare couldn’t think about Thomas.

His face cracked again, a piece of his jaw falling right off, revealing the wriggling mass of violet, green, and black vines underneath it.

_ It fucking hurt. _

Nightmare walked quicker, eventually reaching the double doors of the White House which he blew open with an ender crystal--breaking off a piece of his forehead in the process.

Jschlatt was waiting for him with a smirk on his face, checking a little golden pocket watch.

“Two minutes late, eh, Nightmare?” Schlatt snorted, “A bit unlike you to be late, don’tcha think?”

“Shut up,” Nightmare seethed with a twisted grin, tearing off his leather gloves and putting his claws right at Schlatt’s throat.

Schlatt felt only a smug confidence, the glorious bastard--nothing that Nightmare could use or heal himself with.

Nightmare was hungry. Dream had given him a good bit of emotion, but not enough to keep him going, especially in his deteriorating state.

“I’m going to rip out your fucking throat and enjoy wathcing you die over and over again until I finally decide to kill you forever,” Nightmare pressed his claws against the man’s neck, wincing when a crack along his cheek lengthened at the movement.

“So that’s your plan, then? Kill me and take the admin commands for yourself?” Schlatt stared at Nightmare with unnerving cherry red eyes.

“Always was,” Nightmare grinned. He grinned through the searing pain that swept across his body whenever he moved.

…

“You’re cracking.”

…

“I noticed.”

…

“You can end it here, y’know. You can call it quits.”

Nightmare grinned, swiftly pulling the scythe off of his back, hearing the rustling of movement from around him as people waited in the shadows for Schlatt to pull the trigger.

“True, but I’m tired of waiting.”

And the room erupted in action.

Nightmare swung his scythe at Jschlatt, who quickly teleported away as George and Sapnap rushed in front of him clad in enchanted netherite armour. Ponk and Punz descended from the ceiling in similar gear, though Nightmare, ever quick on his feet, leapt out of the way before digging the tip of his blade into the slight opening in between Ponk’s chestplate and helmet. The emerald met flesh and thick scarlet blood began rushing from the man’s open wound.

**_Ponk was slain by Nightmare_ **

Punz swung his blade at Nightmare, who ducked underneath it, smacking his head into Punz’s chin. Nightmare hissed in pain as a piece of his scalp and forehead fell off, though he wasn’t able to rest for long before Technoblade appeared from the shadows and fired a firework-tipped bolt from his crossbow into Nightmare’s chest. The force of the blow sent Nightmare skidding to the floor across the foyer of the White House. 

The darkly masked man pulled the bolt from his chest, wincing where the crack marks left a gaping hole in him, before abruptly turning on his heel to slam the edge of his emerald blade into something hard and sparkly. Skeppy barely flinched as the blade collided with his diamond cheek, and the beautiful emerald scythe shattered into a thousand pieces upon impact with the diamond golem’s face.

Nightmare let out a string of curses underneath his breath before darting across the room to punch Technoblade in the arm, making the firework bolt he had been charging up release early and hit the ground with a splash of deep reds and soft blues and vibrant oranges. 

Using a chink in the granite of the wall, Nightmare sprinted up to walk on the side of the front corner of the foyer wall, swinging himself up with his momentum and the help of a well-placed gargoyle onto the top decorative ledge of one of the front windows. 

It was sloppy, but it was the best he could do.

A thin black knife flew from the opposite window ledge to embed itself into Nightmare’s exposed neck, cracking the skin like a fragile china doll. Nightmare shrieked in pain, watching as BadBoyHalo pulled and threw another knife in the blink of an eye, which Nightmare caught in between two fingers.

“Get out of him,  _ now _ ,” Bad threatened, throwing another knife into the wall beside Nightmare.

“Catch me first,~” Nightmare panted, hopping down from the ledge and landing with a slight somersault on the ground. Punz attempted to jab the masked man with his sword as he came on the ground, though Nightmare only ducked, grabbing the hilt of the blade and pushing it back into Punz, who stumbled to the ground.

Nightmare felt the weight of the sword in his grip. It wasn’t as good as his scythe, heavy and slow, but it would work for now. He swung the sword at Tommy, who had carefully approached the older man from behind with his own netherite sword--

Though he fell short when his arm splintered, cracked, and came off with the sickening sound of glass shattering. Nightmare cursed, pain sweeping through his body as he fell to his knees on the ground. His arm lay in a shattered, broken mess all the way across the foyer, the netherite sword loosely in its grip. 

Wilbur and Bad approached him, both holding blades to his throat. Skeppy stood next to Bad, almost bodyguarding him, with Sapnap and George guarding Schlatt. Tommy and Tubbo stood nearby with their weapons in hand. Ponk had respawned and was in the process of giving Punz a humongous bear hug. 

“ _ Let. Him. Go _ ,” Wilbur demanded, his expression stormy.

Nightmare grinned, “~ _ Where’s the karma, doc, I’ve lost my patience _ .~”

Nightmare threw the spare end crystal on the ground,  ~~ exploding the entire White House and sending himself flying through one of the windows. Nightmare smiled as their death messages popped up on screen, the familiar brand of the admin commands crown appearing on his hand. ~~

**_ENTER save_324 FROM minecraft_op;_ **

Nightmare was on his knees in front of a smirking Jschlatt and a smiling SMP server.

“YOU MOTHER--” Nightmare began, though he was cut off when Bad jabbed one of his knives into the back of Nightmare’s head.

_฿₳₵₭ ₳₲₳ł₦, ₩Ⱨ₳₮'₴ ₮Ⱨł₴, ₮ⱧɆ ₣ØɄⱤ₮Ⱨ ₮ł₥Ɇ?_

**_I’m not back, you came to me first._ **

_₣₳łⱤ Ɇ₦ØɄ₲Ⱨ. ₳ⱤɆ ɎØɄ ĐØ₦Ɇ ₣ł₲Ⱨ₮ł₦₲, ɎɆ₮?_

**_I can’t--_ **

_₮ⱧɆɎ Ʉ₦ĐɆⱤ₴₮₳₦Đ, ₦ł-₥ł. ł'ⱠⱠ ₮₳₭Ɇ ₮ⱧɆ ₦ɆӾ₮ Ø₦Ɇ ₩ⱧłⱠɆ ɎØɄ ⱤɆ₴₮._

**_Always on my fun, aren’t you?_ **

_ɎØɄⱤ ĐɆ₣ł₦ł₮łØ₦ Ø₣ ₣Ʉ₦ ł₴ ₥ɄⱤĐɆⱤ ₳₦Đ ₮₳Ӿ ₣Ɽ₳ɄĐ._

**_As always. Give ‘em hell for me, Sinner._ **

Nightmare grabbed Bad by his extended arm which was holding the knife in his skull. He dug his claws into Bad’s flesh, violet poison dripping into the wound. Bad yelped in pain, yanking his hand away from the masked man’s grip. Nightmare grinned at Schlatt, moving his mask up to look him in the eyes.

“Tell Good to go fuck himself for me, would ‘ya?”

Dream was rushed back into his body with a wave of pain and dizziness, until the floor and oblivion came up to meet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for the epilogue which I will hopefully not post at midnight again.~  
> Enjoy and thank you from your Friendly Frosty! <3


	10. Epilogue: What A Shame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your favourite green pissbaby is finally awake and feeling much less murdery, though not much can be said the same for BadBoyHalo.

**_~/Three Days Later/~_ **

Dream squinted as soft sunlight filtered in through a window by his bedside. He carefully sat up, noting that his face was back to normal and his wounds had been completely healed over. Even his arm, which Nightmare had cracked off in the fight, was back and healed. The only remnants that Nightmare had even existed were thin pink scars that ran down his arms and face where thick cracks had once been.

Something warm and soft and blue sprinted across the room to envelop Dream in a hug.

“Ge- _George_?” Dream asked, his voice rough from disuse.

“ _ You’re back _ ,” George cried, his tears soaking through Dream’s lime green hoodie.

Another big, warm thing with raven hair barreled into the group hug, nearly knocking the pair over.

“I think these two were worried,” came the familiar smooth British voice of Eret.

Eret, in his full platform-boot induced 6’10” glory, was standing next to Dream’s bedside with Wilbur, Tubbo, Tommy, Techno--

“Is the entire server here?” Dream laughed.

Sapnap nodded and ruffled Dream’s hair, “Trying to kill everybody because of this big creepy-ass parasite thing is a pretty good way to get everyone together.

Dream snorted before looking around, confused, “Where’s Bad?”

“Over here,” a rough, teary voice called. 

_ Skeppy _ .

Dream hopped out of bed, holding George’s hand when he offered it. Beside Dream’s little white bed was another bed with a very feverish Bad laying in it. The younger man trembled, murmuring things under his breath like a person having a bad night--

Nightmare.

_ Fuck. _

“He’s been like this ever since you injured him in the fight, though we don’t know--”

“The poison--goddamnit Bad,” Dream walked over to Bad’s bedside, placing a hand on his friend’s fluffy black cheek. He was both burning up and ice cold.

“He’ll be fine in a couple of days, but in the meantime…” Dream shivered, holding his friend’s hand, who the younger man snuggled against in his restless sleep, “I had really bad visions and flashbacks when Nightmare was first trying to convince me to come with him. His poison is made with grief and panic so that the victim has terrible night terrors.”

Skeppy looked over at his sleeping friend with an expression of shock mingled with bitter sorrow.

“We’ll have to watch him--make sure that he doesn’t accidentally act on a night terror or vison and hurt someone or himself,” Jschlatt stated, walking up to stand next to the edge of Bad’s bed. His expression, though ever cold and unreadable, was betrayed by the sombre compassion in his eyes.

Dream nodded, giving Skeppy a comforting pat on the shoulder.

The group, even the normally loud and boisterous Tommy or trickster Fundy, stood there in a moment of silence for their friend who had helped them win against Nightmare.

* * *

“GET THE FUCK BACK HERE YOU FUCKING BI--” Tommy was cut off when Wilbur scooped the younger blonde in his arms, throwing him into the lake near their picnic spot. 

Sapnap and George were discussing something about a killing game with people trapped in a school, cussing each other out on occasion. Eret and Schlatt were trying to figure out who looked better in hoop earrings (it was Schlatt). Fundy, Tommy, and Tubbo were splashing around in the cool water of the lake, Fundy swishing his bushy fox tail back and forth like a propellor in the water.

“HEY, TAILS, GET BACK HERE I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET MOTHERFUCKER!” Tommy shouted, swimming after the anthropomorphic fox while Tubbo carefully paddleboarded over to the lake’s dock were Wilbur, in his signature yellow sweater and grey beanie, was sitting with Quackity fighting over who had the cooler villain/hero arc.

Technoblade had draped his cloak across a sleeping Niki, who was sprawled out on the picnic blanket next to Sapnap and George, and was in the process of making a potato farm next to a towering willow tree.

Dream was sitting against a nearby tree, watching his friends play and have a sort of fun they hadn’t had for a while. Whittling a little round mask with a childish grin on it, Dream thought back to Nightmare’s promise.

_ “We can play karma. We can get them back for what they did.” _

He’d said that Dream would feel better when the masked man only felt worse doing what he was doing. 

Dream had been so good that year. 

He watched as Tubbo pulled Wilbur into the water, where the man emerged a second later sputtering and splashing before doing the same to Tubbo. 

He watched as Sapnap tackled George to the ground, trying to wrestle the older man into saying that the killing game’s visual novel was better than the anime.

He watched as Jschlatt walked over to Techno with a glass of wine, which the two quickly downed after a toast.

He watched as George called out for Dream to help him, and Dream stood with a smile creeping across his face.

He didn’t feel hollow anymore. Where there had once been a pit in his stomach, sweet joy filled it like honey.

Looks like karma had finally come back to him.

* * *

A mysterious man with a thick red and black evoker’s cloak that ended in a swooshing, forked tailcoat stood next to BadBoyHalo’s bedside, watching as the man tossed and turned in his nightmares. The man’s woollen priest’s scarf perked up, the edge tickling Bad’s nose like a curious dog.

The man brushed a stray bit of hair out of the sleeping man’s face, smiling when the younger cringed in pain and turned away from him.

“ _ A lifetime of laughter _ ,” the man sang, his voice smooth and sickly sweet as magic wove through his tone, “ _ At the expense-- _ ” he pulled one of Bad’s knives from the younger man’s jacket pocket.

“ _ Of the death of a bachelor. _ ”

* * *

Thus, with that, Nightmares of Agami is concluded.~

It’s been an absolutely wonderful ride filled with me staying up until midnight writing because I couldn’t sleep or I didn’t want to do homework like a naughty child. I watched __secret_kitty__’s Other Half series on TikTok (please go give her a follow), and immediately fell in love with the idea of a parasite or infection that turned the characters of the SMP dark. I then heard AJR’s “Karma” and went ‘hmn yes good angst I must use’ and thus this series was born.

Thank you all so much for being around, giving kudos and comments and even just reading my shit. I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch lately and seeing your comments means so much to me. I love you all so much, thank you for sticking with me on this wild ride. --Jackfrostbitten <3

Pray For The Wicked (work numero dos) will  _ hopefully _ have its first chapter out by next Saturday (November 7th upon writing this), and I look forward to seeing these lovely twisted bastards again. On a side note: after each work, I’ll be posting a special little something with a character who won’t be included in the main arc of the story. Keep an eye out for the Samhain Special: Friends With Bullets featuring the lovely crouching chaotic bitch, Toob!

**Author's Note:**

> This work had characters inspired by __secret_kitty__ on TikTok and includes and is in reference to the song "Karma" by AJR (please go give Secret a follow, she's amazing)  
> Enjoy and thanks for reading from your Friendly Frosty! <3


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